Archive for Bristol

Sad news for patrons of all things heavy as this year’s Temples Festivals has been cancelled. Francis Mace, the organiser of the Temples Festival, which was set to take place next weekend, made the following announcement on Facebook:

Patrons of Temples Festival,

After an arduous 48hrs of uncertainty, and with deepest reluctance we have been forced to cancel Temples Festival 2016.

At the beginning of last week, the organisation we had onboard to finance the event pulled their funding, and with limited access to advance ticket sales and no sponsors to back us we have been unable to source the funding required to cover the overheads which would allow Temples Festival to go ahead.

Following Temples 2015, we were left with a sizeable debt and as opposed to dissolving the company and declaring bankruptcy – I decided to take on the debts personally and subsequently pay off all our creditors in instalments as quickly as possible, this meant bands, staff and contractors were all paid late – and it’s had a crippling effect on both my professional and personal life as a whole – truth be told, I made a series of bad business decisions and dealt with the situation very poorly – which I take full accountability for.

I’ve spent the past week trying to gain access to the funds we need to make this year work and avoid the problems we encountered following last year’s event, with our financiers pulling their involvement – it’s been an uphill battle, which I’ve fought to the best of my abilities – and unfortunately, have been defeated.

Over the past weekend, I’ve been attempting to produce the festival’s continuation on a ‘scaled down’ level so we can offer something for those of you who have purchased tickets, accommodation, transport etc and allow the bands who are touring, UK based etc – unfortunately this morning it became clear that even if we were to proceed as such, we’d be left with another huge debt and therefore unable to pay the bands, staff, venue, contractors and a number of other crucial overheads the festival relies on – thus repeating the mistakes that were made last year.

Having already lost in the region of £70,000 throughout Temples Festival’s existence – I’m afraid adding more debt to that will simply cripple both myself and the festival, and after such a difficult year it’s not an option for me to take on such a huge debt personally.

I am deeply deeply sorry to all of those who will lose out as a result of this decision, having put three years of my life and having already lost so much of it to the festival I’m afraid there is no option to continue with Temples Festival 2016 and I take full responsibility for events cancellation. I am truly sorry.

My intention was always to setup a unique UK festival which books bands who are rarely seen in the UK, I’ve tirelessly dedicated myself to this event for a long time now and the decision to cancel this year’s event has been unequivocally the hardest call I’ve ever had to make in my life. My sincere apologies to those of you who will lose out as a result of this, I am truly sorry – but I can’t face another year of debts & damage.

Thank you to everyone who has actively supported Temples Festival from the start, I launched this ambitious event with the best intentions and unfortunately it’s become too damaging for me to oversee single handedly. Although curating the festival is something I’ve been able to do well – managing the business side of the event has proven too much for me. I’ve been promoting concerts for half of my life, and those of you who know of the work I’ve done will hopefully be aware of how upsetting and damaging this decision has been to me on every level.

Our ethos has been No Surrender for the past year, as I was determined to make this festival work and finish what I started. I’ve worked so hard to make this happen for our Patrons in 2016 but against my will and core beliefs – today’s news has forced me to surrender.

Ticket refunds are available from your point of purchase, please contact them for a full refund.

Again, thank you to those of you who have been supporting this event for the past three years – your encouragement and kind words have kept me going through incredibly difficult times and I hope that despite this negative outcome you’ve at least enjoyed the two events we hosted for you. I’m proud of what was achieved with this event, and if there was any way of making this year work I’d be continuing with the same passion and dedication which oversaw the last two editions of Temples Festival.

With the utmost regret & sincerity,

Francis Mace
– Temples Festival

Following this cancellation, a number of bands have been left without dates for the first weekend of June. Rumours are doing the rounds at the moment, implying that one of the reasons for the cancellation is that acts that played last year’s Temples were never paid and the cancellation will have a knock-on effect towards the rest of the UK scene as well.

UK thrash bandits Seprevation recently announced plans for their new album Consumed along side the album’s details. The album will be released 10th May this year independently.

Formed in 2011 in Bristol, England; since their inception Seprevation have been campaigning across the UK, laying siege with a battery of hate filled lyrics and a sound to kick your pearly whites to dust, Seprevation are here for a reason and one reason only… To shatter and utterly destroy!

2012 saw the band supporting underground heavyweights Gorguts, Wormrot, Onslaught, Cannabis Corpse and many more which eventually earned the band a place at Bloodstock Festival. 2012 also marked the release of the Seprevation debut record, an EP entitled Ritual Abuse.

In 2013 the band picked up the pace signing a deal with Chaotic Tapestry Management before hitting the road with Californian Gods of gore Exhumed. That same year Seprevation jetted out to 16th Cellar Studios in Rome, Italy with acclaimed producer Stefano Morabito (Fleshgod Apocalypse, Hour Of Penance, Eyeconoclast, Acrania, Bloodshot Dawn) to lay down tracks for the debut full-length album.

A near year has dawned. Bigger, stronger and more devastating than ever, Seprevation are set to unleash hell armed with their brand new album Consumed.

Guitarist Joss Farrington comments on Consumed:

I think fans of Ritual Abuse will really like it, its more of the same in many ways, plenty of shred and old school worship but its definitely steering in our own direction, as the writing process went on the songs became more and more diverse, songs like Between Two Worlds and Dreams were written last and you can really hear the difference.

If you thought Ritual Abuse was pretty great then buy this because it’s 100 times better, 3 words – Old School Worship.

Raul Gonzalez is the mastermind behind the Consumed artwork. Guitarist Joss Farrington also commented on the artwork:

He did the Ritual Abuse art too. I suppose if there was to be a concept or theme, it would be about death, and all the bullshit that follows with it, depression, loss, escape etc. the idea of being consumed by something you cannot control.

Gehenna have been confirmed to make an appearance at Temples Festival in Bristol in 2014, where they’ll join a host of bands that include headliners Electric Wizard and Neurosis. The festival will take place at Motion in Bristol over the weekend of 2nd – 4th May.

Tickets are on sale now at £85 for the whole weekend and £38.50 for day tickets. You can purchase them this location.

Gehenna have also just released their 8th record, Unravel. The uncompromising masterpiece is produced by Gehenna, and is the first new album release since 2005. The record carries the spirit from WW and twists it to confront a more post-apocalyptic era – rather than the ragnarok of the bourgeoisie, the individual, and the failings of western society – Gehenna faces 21st century existence head on. There is no remorse, no compromise – there is only perfect hate.

Melodic groove metallers Nya have announced plans to record new material new in October at Long Wave Studios in Cardiff, Wales with producer Romesh Dodangoda (Motorhead, Bullet For My Valentine). The band have also officially announced Lars Wickett as their new drummer, following their appearance at MetalDays Festival in Slovenia last month.

Nya are set to play four shows before they begin recording in October. The shows are as follow:

Savage Messiah have confirmed plans to enter the studio on 1st July to begin recording their as-yet untitled new studio album. The band will be working on the follow-up to 2012’s Plague Of Conscience with producer Scott Atkins (Sylosis, Behemoth) at Grindstone Studios in Suffolk, having already worked with him on the band’s last two albums. Savage Messiah frontman Dave Silver comments:

We’re beyond excited to be fast approaching the day when we’ll head off back into Grindstone Studios, to work once more with Scott Atkins on what we can promise will be the most metal Savage Messiah CD yet! We’ve approached the writing process in a totally old school manner; just four guys in a rehearsal space getting a vibe going, playing heavy metal! Which has really allowed us to express the chemistry within the band and build on the musical foundation we laid with ‘Plague of Conscience’.

We’re pleased to be working with Scott Atkins for the third time, as he understands the band and has always delivered above and beyond for us and we’ve no doubt that he’ll get the best out of us once again. We’ll be releasing titles, track listings, artwork etc. in due course. In the meantime, look out for plenty of studio video updates which we’ll be posting over at our official YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/savagemessiahmetal). So stay tuned!

Due to Hurricane Sandy, all transatlantic flights from Washington DC were cancelled at 9am yesterday morning – The same day Pentagram were due to fly out. Pentagram have rebooked their flights and are set to arrive early Thursday morning which means that their show at The Fleece in Bristol has been postponed til 3rd November and will now take place at The Exchange in Bristol.

The promoter has stated that he’s aware this will cause problems for those with tickets to Damnation and also went onto state that this was a measure of last resort to ensure that people in the South West get a chance to see Pentagram in the region, as opposed to cancelling the show all together. The other tour dates which are London, Manchester and Glasgow are still going ahead as planned.

Legendary pioneers of doom metal Pentagram are auditioning new guitar players. As previously announced, the revered guitarist Victor Griffin is performing his farewell shows during the Oct/Nov European Relentless Tour. He’ll be focusing on his solo career from this point on and the band and fans wish him all the best. Victor will forever be an important part of the “Ram Family.”

Pentagram is now searching for the perfect player who can easily play the blazing, early blues-based, hard rock, proto-metal of the late Vincent McAllister as well as the doom metal mastery of the one and only Victor Griffin. Tone, chops, appearance, tour experience and availability (US and abroad so a passport is required), song writing skills, and sobriety are all important factors. The band will be writing/recording their follow up to the acclaimed Metal Blade release, Last Rites this coming December and January.

Someone who is close to the Washington, DC area is preferred but exceptions will be made for the perfect player.

For songs and video of the band, visit: www.reverbnation.com/pentagramofficial
Please submit a short bio, a photo, and audio or video of you playing. PENTAGRAM song covers are preferred and the following songs are suggested:
“Wolf’s Blood”
“All Your Sins”
“Treat Me Right”
“When the Screams Come”
“Forever My Queen”
“20 Buck Spin”

In other news, Pentagram is gearing up to tour Europe and the dates will commence with the band’s first ever UK tour. In a celebration of Victor Griffin’s time with the band, Pentagram will be playing the Decibel Magazine Hall of Fame album, Relentless, in its entirety. After the doom pioneers first-ever UK show in London in 2011, Bobby Leibling and the boys return for four shows with Gentlemans Pistols as support, kicking off in Bristol at The Fleece.